Pitch Session Network

During the 2017 Creating Pathways to Diversity Conference, HNBA members, MCCA law firm members, corporate law departments and legal service provider sponsors* will have the opportunity to participate in MCCA’s inaugural Pitch Session Network. This event provides a platform for diverse law firm attorneys and legal service providers to make meaningful connections with in-house counsel interested in legal services. These sessions also allow corporate law departments to connect with diverse attorneys, diversify their service client portfolios and assist in holding law firms and legal service providers accountable for their diversity efforts.

Application forms are available at the 2017 Creating Pathways to Diversity registration website (http://www.mcca.com/events/pathways/). Select Pitch Session Network and the appropriate classification for your organization (corporate law department, MCCA law firm member or legal service provider). Once you add the Pitch Sessions Network to your agenda, you will be guided to complete the Pitch Session Network application form.

*Legal service providers can participate in the Pitch Session Network as MCCA sponsors because they do not meet MCCA membership requirements. Law firms must be MCCA members to participate and cannot participate as sponsors.

FAQs

When and where will the pitches take place?

The Pitch Session Network will take place on October 3 and 4, 2017, during the 2017 Creating Pathways to Diversity Conference at the Marriott Marquis in New York City.

Who may participate in the Pitch Session Network?

In-house counsel may participate in the Pitch Session Network at no cost. All firms must be members and registered for the conference in order to participate in Pitch Session Network. Legal service providers that are interested in the Pitch Session Network may only participate if they are Pathways sponsors. For more information regarding Pathways Conference sponsorship, please click here.

Am I guaranteed a slot to pitch?

Pitch sessions are not guaranteed. Applications are carefully reviewed and are matched with in-house counsel or law firms that are willing to hear a pitch. We will attempt to give preference to conference sponsors in the matching process, but again there is no guarantee that will result in a match. Please be aware that there could be many reasons why an application did not receive a match, such as:

There was no need for the type of service being pitched;

In-house counsel has very specific needs; and/or

In-house counsel was already aware of the services provided by the firm/legal service provider.

Due to the volume of applicants received and for confidentiality reasons, we will not share the reason why a particular match was not made.

What is the level of seniority of the in-house participants?

The level of seniority of the in-house participants in the Pitch Session Network are:

Have direct responsibility for making decisions on hiring outside counsel;

Have significant influence over selection of outside counsel; and

Arrange for meetings with more senior counsel within their respective organizations.

How will in-house counsel be matched with law firms?

We will send relevant information received from the applications to interested in-house counsel with our recommendations of the service providers that match the requirements of the in-house counsel. In-house counsel will then choose which law firms or legal service providers they are interested in meeting at the 2017 Creating Pathways to Diversity Conference.

Is there a cost to participate?

There is no cost to participate for in-house counsel. Law firms that are interested in participating must MCCA members and registered for the 2017 Creating Pathways to Diversity Conference. For more information on registration, click here. Legal service providers can only participate in the Pitch Session Network, if they are Pathways conference sponsors. For more information on Pathways conference sponsorship, click here.

Anything else I should know about the Pitch Session Network?

Pitch Session Networks will be 30 minutes session time slots.

MCCA reserves the right to:

Determine the availability of law firms and legal service provider applicants;

Limit the number of law firms and legal service providers to the in-house counsel participant; and

Make recommendations to participating in-house counsel.

MCCA does not guarantee that law firms or legal service providers that submit a submission for the Pitch Session Network will be selected to participate nor does the MCCA guarantee selection and participation in the Pitch Session Network will result in actual legal work.